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Mapping the Filming Locations of Minority Report

By Valerie Paschall
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By Valerie Paschall

When movies are based in the future, one can easily take liberties with the city in which it's set. Such was the case with 2002's sci-fi thriller Minority Report which is set in Washington, DC in 2054. Minority Report is a Steven Spielberg movie starring Tom Cruise loosely based on a short story by oft-adapted writer Philip K. Dick. Like many movies that have been adapted from Dick stories, it's a terrifying look at a dystopian future, in this case one where people can predict crimes before they happen. Much like another movie based on a Dick story, Blade Runner, much of Minority Report is filmed in Los Angeles. C'mon, when has anyone seen fire escapes like that in a D.C. alley? That's definitely the Warner Bros. backlot.

Still, they actually filmed in a few notable (and not as notable) D.C. locations and they get some parts of the city correct. They know to put quadrant identifiers on the street names and they run through a list of Northwest DC neighborhoods when trying to find a would-be killer in the opening sequence. The map we have below doesn't have as many places as the other two (or even as next week's map), but it still seemed like a worthwhile inclusion in the series. In addition to mapping the filming sites, we've mapped two spots that were mentioned...but didn't actually appear in the filming.


· Film locations for Minority Report (2002) [Movie Locations]
· Lost Capitol Hill: Hollywood on the Hill at "Spielberg Park" [The Hill Is Home]

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Holy Sister Mary Ilona-Price Playground

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During the establishing sequence, Cruise's character, John Anderton and the rest of the Precrime Division try to figure out where a future murder will take place. After identifying the architecture of the row house and its location across the street from a park with a merry-go-round, Anderton places the future murder in Barnaby Woods. In fact, the identical rowhouses are on the 1700 block of C Street SE and the park is in Capitol Hill.

1701 Massachusetts Avenue Southeast, Washington, DC 20003

Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center

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The exterior for the D.C. Police's "Office of Precrime" is actually the Ronald Reagan Trade Building. Photo by Wally Gobetz

1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 312-1300
(202) 312-1300

The GAP

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When Anderton gets Agatha the psychic (called the "pre cog" in this film) some new clothes, he goes to the GAP in Georgetown in one of the more humorous moments in a very dark film.

1258 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20007

The Willard Intercontinental

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That nailbiting climax that plays out at a fancy celebratory dinner with a great view of the city? That's at the Willard. Photo by Ted Eytan.

1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 628-9100
(202) 628-9100

Francis Pool

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This is an odd one because while it's not filmed it's name dropped in a very weird way. When Cruise's John Anderton approaches Leo Crow (the man he's supposed to kill), he accuses Crow of stealing his son Sean at the Francis Pool in West End...in Baltimore. That's just plain odd that Spielberg & co. would take a known D.C. location and place it in another city. Photo by Flickr user random lady.

2500 N St NW, Washington, DC 20037
(202) 727-3285
(202) 727-3285

NoMa-Gallaudet U Metro Station

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This is another weird one that's mentioned and not used (although the entryway at ground level does look awfully similar.) At one point, Anderton is spotted getting on the Metro and kudos to the scriptwriters for not referring to it as the "Subway." Of course, seeing as how the movie is set in 2054, stations, trains and names of stops can all be different without the audience crying "geographically innacurate!" They did just that: the trains have a markedly different exterior (albeit a similar interior) and they have Anderton getting off at a stop that leads to "33rd Street SE." The interesting thing is that he gets on at a very real spot, the NoMa, then the New York Avenue station (again, there's no evidence that the shot was actually filmed there.) In 2054, there must be a new line that delivers him to a magical new above ground stop somewhere between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road. Photo by Flickr user BeyondDC.

200 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
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Holy Sister Mary Ilona-Price Playground

1701 Massachusetts Avenue Southeast, Washington, DC 20003

During the establishing sequence, Cruise's character, John Anderton and the rest of the Precrime Division try to figure out where a future murder will take place. After identifying the architecture of the row house and its location across the street from a park with a merry-go-round, Anderton places the future murder in Barnaby Woods. In fact, the identical rowhouses are on the 1700 block of C Street SE and the park is in Capitol Hill.

1701 Massachusetts Avenue Southeast, Washington, DC 20003

Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center

1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004

The exterior for the D.C. Police's "Office of Precrime" is actually the Ronald Reagan Trade Building. Photo by Wally Gobetz

1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 312-1300
(202) 312-1300

The GAP

1258 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20007

When Anderton gets Agatha the psychic (called the "pre cog" in this film) some new clothes, he goes to the GAP in Georgetown in one of the more humorous moments in a very dark film.

1258 Wisconsin Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20007

The Willard Intercontinental

1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004

That nailbiting climax that plays out at a fancy celebratory dinner with a great view of the city? That's at the Willard. Photo by Ted Eytan.

1401 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004
(202) 628-9100
(202) 628-9100

Francis Pool

2500 N St NW, Washington, DC 20037

This is an odd one because while it's not filmed it's name dropped in a very weird way. When Cruise's John Anderton approaches Leo Crow (the man he's supposed to kill), he accuses Crow of stealing his son Sean at the Francis Pool in West End...in Baltimore. That's just plain odd that Spielberg & co. would take a known D.C. location and place it in another city. Photo by Flickr user random lady.

2500 N St NW, Washington, DC 20037
(202) 727-3285
(202) 727-3285

NoMa-Gallaudet U Metro Station

200 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002

This is another weird one that's mentioned and not used (although the entryway at ground level does look awfully similar.) At one point, Anderton is spotted getting on the Metro and kudos to the scriptwriters for not referring to it as the "Subway." Of course, seeing as how the movie is set in 2054, stations, trains and names of stops can all be different without the audience crying "geographically innacurate!" They did just that: the trains have a markedly different exterior (albeit a similar interior) and they have Anderton getting off at a stop that leads to "33rd Street SE." The interesting thing is that he gets on at a very real spot, the NoMa, then the New York Avenue station (again, there's no evidence that the shot was actually filmed there.) In 2054, there must be a new line that delivers him to a magical new above ground stop somewhere between Stadium-Armory and Benning Road. Photo by Flickr user BeyondDC.

200 Florida Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002